Door-operating means



J. D. SMITH.

DOOR OPERATING MEANS. APPLICATION man MAR-.2}, 1921.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

2 SHEETS SHEET l- //v VENT OR: 11.1). 5111232 J. D. SMITH.

DOOR OPERATING MEANS.

APPLICATION nun MAR. 21. 1921.

1,401,202. Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

//v VENTOIP: (BJD.SMITH C mefi dw JosEPir DEVLIN SMITH, oriaensnann'rown, Iowa.

, DOOR-OPERATING MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec 2 7, 19 21.

Application filed March 21, 1921. serial no. 454,154.

To all to 7mm it may concern j j Be it known that I, JosnrH DEvLiN S ITH,

a citizen of the United States of America,

and resident of Marshalltown, Marshall county, Iowa, have invented a new and useful Door-Operating Means, oiwhich the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved mechanism adapted for manual operation to open and close swinging doors from a position removed considerably from the doors, as for instance from a location within a vehicle standing in front of the doors.

A further object of this invention is to provide in such a mechanisman arrangement for automatically latching the doors in either open or closedposition.

A further object of this "invention is to provide a door-operating means the mechanism of which is arranged in large part within the building on which the doors are mounted.

A further object of this invention is to facilitate the movement of'thedoors by arranging that one of the pair shall start its opening and closing movement considerably in advance of the other, whereby the mo- Inentuna of the moving door is applied to initiate the movement of the other.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a'build- :ing having its doors equipped with my improved mechanism. 5 Fig. 2 is an interior elevation showing a part of the wall and doors and that portion of the mechanism located within a building. Fig. 3 is a plan of the mechanism, partly insection on the line 33 of Fig. 2. In Figs. 1 2 and 3 the mechanism is shown in the closed position'of the doors. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view, on an enlarged scale, showing the latching means inthe position for latching the doors open. a I

In the construction of the devicean'dits mounting; as shown the numeral 10 designates the wall of a building formed with a doorway in which double doors 12, 13ers hinged at their outer margins in acommon manner. Al supporting frame 14, which may well be formed of a metal bar of yokes'aid frame being located just above said doorway and the position normally occupied shape, is mounte'd in a horizontal position above the doorway and secured to" the wall by the door 12 when in closed position. The

yoke-shaped frame 14: has its closed end spaced. a suitable distance from the wall 10 and substantially parallel therewith, and a rocl-z shaft 15 is arranged substantially at right angles to said walls and is journaled 1 t for rotary oscillation in the closed end of said yokeirameand in.the wall above the doorway. The rcckfshatt 15 has its outer end extending a suitable distance away from the wall, and an operating member 16 is I pivoted to said outer end by a bolt or p n .16

arranged horizontally and parallel with said wall, the upper end of said operating member preferably being forked to receive atlattened end portion of the rock shaft. 1 j

Brackets 17,18 aremounted on the inner face of the wall 10 directly above the doorway therein, and each of said brackets is in the vertical plane ofthe hinges of one of the doors 11 or .12. A short shaft 19 is journaled in the bracket 17 and fixed to said shaft is a pinion 20.. .A short shaft 21 is ournaled in] a vertical position in the bracket 18, and fixed to said shaft is an arm or crank 22 erztending away from the wall. i I

Fixed to the lower ends ofthe short shafts 1 9 and .21, or suitably formed thereon, are bent levers 23, 24 respectively, each of said levers'having a short arm secured at one end to the respective'shatt and extending away from the wall and inwardly of the building when, the doors are closed as shown, and a long arm extending inwardly on an oblique line toward the "tree margin of the -adjacent door.' llhe long arms er the bent levers 23, 24; are pivotally connected links 25, 26 respectively to the freemarginal portions of the doors 11, 12. near the upper ends thereof.

A rack bar 27 is horizontally arranged and adaptedtor sliding movement in bearings 28 carried by the inner face of the wall 10 above the doorway, and the toothed portion of said rack bar is in mesh with the pinion 20. A pitman 29 is arranged in horizontal position adjacent the wall 10 and in aportion ofits length is parallel with said wall. The pitman29 has one end portion formed as a collar or hearing 30 engaging and adapted for limited sliding movement on the smooth portion of the rack bar 27. The pitman 29 is offset intermediate of V "i its ends away from the wall and hasits opposite end pivotally connected to the arm or crank 22 of the .rock shaft 21.1 A link 31 is pivotally connected at one endrto and between the ends of the pitman 29, extendsin a plane substantially parallel with the wall 10, and ispivotally connected at its opposite end to a downwardlyextending crank 32 formed on the inner endof the rock shaft '15. Spaced set collars 33, 34t'are mounted onthe smooth portion' of the rack bar 27, on opposite sides of the collar'or bearing portion of the pitma-n 29,.and bot-h of said set collars are spacedfrom said collar or hearing portion when the doors are in closed position;

A latching plate' 35" is fixed to the outer face of the wall 10 beneath'the rock shaft '15. A latching rod-'36 is arranged parallel with and beneath the rockshaft 15 within I the yoke frame 14, and the. inner end of said rod is adapted to engage selectively in .either of a plurality of holes 37 formed in r the latching plate In this instance the holes 37 are two in number and are soarranged that when the latching rod engages therein the doors 11, 12 are latched in fully closedor in open position substantially at right angles to the, wall 10. The latching rod 36 is adapted for limited sliding movement in spaced brackets 38, 39 fixedrigidly toand dependingfrom the rock shaft 15,

and an expansive coil spring 4:0 is coiled on sa d rod, lmpinges at one end the rearmost bracket, 38, and at its forward end a collar L1 'or similar member fixed to said rod I i The outer end of the latching rod 36 is piv otally connected,as by links l2, to the oper ating member 16 at a point spaced materially below the'pivot 16 thereof. The

spring 40 acts topress the 'rod into latching engagement with the plate 35, when-the inner end of said rod isin such position as to enter-either of the holes37 therein.

In practical use, tllfClOOlS 11, 12 being closed and latched by engagement of the rod 7 36 with, the right hand hole37, the'operator grasps the operating member 16 and first pulls outwardly thereon to apply draft to the rod 36 through the links 42 and cause said rod to leave theposition' of engagement 7 V with the latching late 35, thuscompressing the spring 40. olding the latching rod out of engagement by continued force applied outwardly to the lower end of. the operating member, the operator next swings the lower'end of said operating member to 7 his left, as he faces the building, thus rocking the shaft15 clockwise. This movement causes the latchingrod to be moved through an are on the axis of the rock shaft, its inner end sliding across the face of the plate 35 towardthe'other hole 37, which also are arranged in an arc concentric with said rock shaft. Rocking movement of'the shaft 15 as described exerts a pull on the link3l, through the crank arm 32, thus reciprocating the pitman 29 to the left of the operator (to the right, Figs. 2 'and 3), which in turn results in an oscillation of the crank arm 22 and short shaft 21 and a movement of the bent lever 24. through an arc in the general direction indicated by" the arrow a V in Fig. 3. Such movement causes a pushing force to be applied to the free'marginal portlon of the door 12 through the link 26,

thus "tending to swing said door open on its hinges. As this action is taking place, and after the door 12 'hasopened substantially half way and has gained'consider'able momentum in its movement, the collar portion 30 of the pitman, which to this point has been sliding freely on the rack bar 27, engages the set collar 3 1'and initiates a'sliding movement of said rack bar toward the hinged margin of the door 11. Suchmovement of the rack, bar 27 causes an osc1l-:

lation of the pinion 20, thus causing a movement through an arc of the. bent lever. 23 in the general direction ofthe arrow 7) in Fig. 3; which movement .intnrn causes a pushing force to be applied to the inner marginal portion of the door 11, through the link 25, thus tending to swing said door.

open on its hinges; The opening movement of the door 11 does not'begin until the door 12 is well open, but both. doors reach jopen orclosed) position at the same time, as the radius of the pinion 20 is correspondingly less than that of the crank arm 22, so that the" swinging movement of the door 11 is.

more rapid than thatof the door 12.

I .When the doors 11, 12 have reached the desired point in their opening movement the inner end of the latching rod reaches the other'hole37 and is forced thereinhby the spring 40, thus latching the doors in. open posltlon."

When it is desired to close. the doors the operating member is pulled outwardly at its lower end to release the latching rod 36 and then moved laterally in the opposite direction to that previously described, thus rocking the shaft 151reversely and causing a pulling force to be applied to the link 31 through the crank arm 32. Thismoves the pitma'n' 29 to the left (Fig-.3) andoscillates'the crank arm 22 andshaft 21 oppo-' site to the arrow a, thus pulling on the bent V lever 24 and tending to close the door 12.

12 and thereupon the latching rod reaches the first hole 37 and :is caused toenter same by action of the spring 40,'thus latching the doors in closed position. a

By starting themovement of one door at a time, in either direction, less force is required to initiate the movement, and when such door is well underway its momentum is applied to start the other door, thus greatly facilitating the operation.

I claim as my invention- 1. Door operating means, comprising a rock shaft, shafts arranged in vertical posi tion adjacent hingedmargins of the doors, bent levers fixed to said shafts, pivotal con nections between said levers and the free marginal portions of the doors, a pinion on one of said shafts, a crank arm on the other of said shafts, a rack bar slidably mounted and having a toothed portion in mesh with said pinion, a pitman pivoted at one end to said crank arm and operatively connected at its opposite end to said rack bar, said rock shaft being formed with a crank arm pivotally connected to and adapted to reciprocate said pitman.

2. Door operating means, comprising a rock shaft, shafts arranged in vertical position adjacent hinged margins of the doors, bent levers fixed to said shafts, pivotal connections between said levers and the free marginal portions of the doors, a pinion on one of said shafts, a crank arm on the other of said shafts, a rack bar slidably'mounted and having a toothed portion in mesh with said pinion, a pitman pivoted at one end to said crank arm and having a sliding operative connection to said rack bar, said rock shaft being formed with a crank arm pivotally connected to and adapted to reciprocate said pitman.

3. Door operating means, comprising a rock shaft, shafts arranged in vertical position adjacent hinged margins of the doors, bent levers fixed to said shafts, pivotal connections between said levers and the free marginal portions of the doors, a pinion on one of said shafts, a crank arm on the other of said shafts having a substantially greater radius than said pinion, a rack bar slidably mounted and having a toothed portion in mesh with said pinion, a pitman pivoted at one end to said crank arm and having a sliding operative connection to said rack bar, said rock shaft being formed with a crank arm pivotally connected to and adapted to reciprocate said pitman.

4:. Door operating means, comprising a rock shaft, shafts arranged in vertical position adjacent hinged margins of the doors, bent levers fixed to said shafts, pivotal connections between said levers and free marginal portions of the doors, a pinion on one of said shafts, a crank arm on the other of said shafts, a rack bar slidably mounted and having a toothed portion'in mesh with said pinion, a pitman pivoted to said crank arm. and having operative connections A to saldrack bar, said lrock shaft being formed with a crank arm pivotally connected to and vvertically arranged within said wall adja cent the hinged margins of said doors, bent levers fixed to said shafts and having pivotal connections to the free marginal portions of said doors, a pinion fixed to one of said shafts, a crank arm fixed to the other of said shafts, a rack bar slidably carried by the inner face of said wall and having a toothed portion in mesh with said pinion, a pitman pivoted to said crank arm and operatively connected to said rack bar, said rock shaft being formed with a crank arm at its inner end, and a link pivotally connecting said pitman to the crank arm of said rock shaft. 7

6. Door operating means comprising the combination with a pair of doors hinged at their outer margins, of a rock shaft journaled for oscillation, shafts vertically arranged adjacent the hinged margins of said doors, bent levers fixed to said shafts and pivotally connected to the free marginal portions of said doors, a pinion fixed to one of said shafts, a crank arm fixed to the other of said shafts, a rack bar slidably mounted and having a toothed portion in mesh with said pinion, spaced set collars on said rack bar, a pitman pivoted to said crank arm and having a collar portion slidably engaging said rack bar between and adapted to contact selectively with the set collars thereon, said rock shaft being formed with a crank arm, and a link'pivotally connecting said pitman to the crank arm of said rock shaft.

7. Door operatingmeans comprising the combination with a wall and a pair of doors hinged at their outer margins thereto, of a rock shaft suitably journaled and extending through said wall, shafts vertically arranged within said wall adjacent the hinged margins of said doors, connections between said shafts and the free marginal portions of 7 latter, an operating member pivoted to the outer end of and depending from said rock shaft, a latching rod connected with said their outer niargingofa rock shaft, shafts rock shaft and also connected with said op erating member, and means carried by said wall for engagement hysaid latching rod to hold said rock shaft'against oscillation.

8. Door operating means comprislng the combination with a pair of doors hinged at vertically arranged adjacent the hinged .anarginsfof said doors, connectionsbetween said shafts and the free marginal portions of the doors for swinging the latter on their hinges, a pitrnan mounted for reciprocation, connections between said rockshaft and the pitman for reciprocating the latter connections between sald pltman and the vertical 7 shafts for oscillating the latter, an operatinonsoe ing memberpivoted to and. depending from.

the outer endof said rock shaft,ralatching .rod oar'ried' by said rock shaft and adapted forireciprocation and being spring-pressed in one direction, .saidv operating member also having pivotal. connections to said. latching rod to withdraw it against the actionof said spring, ancl'a latching plateformed.

with spaced means for engagement'bysaid' latchlng .rod under the" influence off-said spring. y

JosEPnifDEvLiN SMITH. 

